Research rocket mistaken for UFO in China

Updated: 2013-05-14 16:55

(chinadaily.com.cn)

Sorry to disappoint all UFO fans, but the ghost-like floating object (click to watch video) they gasped at on Monday night was actually a test sounding rocket launched by Chinese scientists.

The Chinese Academy of Science (CAS) clarified on its website Tuesday that it sent up a rocket from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Northwest China's Gansu provicne at around 9:00 pm on May 13 for aero-logical sounding.

The consequence of this rocket launch, which is a common occurrence, is that many UFO believers mistook it for the latest visit by alien guests, as people across the southern part of China, including Chongqing, Kunming, Hong Kong, Changsha, Haikou, and Wuhan, all took images of the rocket and posted them on the Internet.

The sounding rocket was used to collect data about high energy and magnetic fields in the ionosphere, said CAS in a statement.

A sounding rocket flies up into the sky over Shien city in Central China's Hubei province, May 13. [Photo uploaded by Weibo blogger Lilibushifeizhoulaide]